Ruth Spitzer

Taralga Rodeo

JANUARY 2012 Photography Society Monthly Outing

My truly first ever experience.  Every month as part of the photography society I belong to (Sutherland Shire Photography), we visit a different location every month for a photo shoot and every second month we do a Mystery Tour (exactly as the name implies).  More on that later.

January was Rodeo month.  Yes, just as you see it in the American movies.  But right here in good old Australia.  And what a truly awesome experience.  Just 2 hours drive out of Sydney to Goulburn (country NSW).  The Taralga Rodeo, an annual event, bursting with energy, with smells and sights to entice all your senses.  As you walk around, you can smell the dust, see it floating in the air,  good old country music blasting out the loud speaker while the commentator introduces each new cowboy, bull and horse.

Every direction you turn or walk, is a hive of activity.  From horses warming up in the paddock to enormous bulls mating in the pens or  stomping restlessly about, heaving their weight against the bars, watching you with determined eyes that your so mesmerized, you can barely tear yourself away.  Children, dressed in such adorable cowboy gear, running around, ice cream cones and chocolate melting down their shirts, laughing and playing.  And not to forget, some very good looking young cowboys milling about, smeared with dust, euphoric smiles on their faces, some just unwinding under  a shady tree, smoke and beer in hand.  Who knew a good cowboy hat and chaps could be so sexy.

It was a day of delights for me.  Not an easy event to photograph as I discovered.  But you definitely notice your shots get better as the day progresses. You find out what works, what doesn’t.  When’s the best time to hit the shutter.  Pay close attention to the gates opening, when the bull first emerges, you can predict a horses next move, that moment when they glide past a barrel and the dust takes flight or when a cowboy is just about to get thrown off and hopefully you can capture him in mid air.  Not easy.  But it was a day I shall remember always and definitely do again.

The images below are hard to describe in words. It comes down to 'you had to be there' to literally stad half a meter away from the bull pen, where a cowboy is literally getting ready to mount his bull, getting strapped up.  The energy is electric.

 

This photo does no justice at all to this magnificent creature. When you're standing about 4 feet away, the only thing protecting you against this larger than life force are a few bars of steel.  It's the most incredible feeling that courses through your body as your standing there.  Looking into his face and his eyes are boring into yours.  The sheer power is surreal.

    

Spring in the Blue Mountains

“Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day”.  
W. Earl Hall

And who am I to argue with that...

On a glorious perfect spring day, I found myself in the Blue Mountains on a photography workshop.  Once the full day formalities of class were over, you take that step outside and realise the rest of the day is yours for the taking.  The air is beautiful, the sun feels incredible on your skin, my camera is practically shouting at me to get going and snap some beauty.

Saturday late afternoon, we took a hike en route to the Wentworth falls lake.  Hiking through beautiful vegetation, deep into the forest. Words could barely describe the wonders of nature.  I couldn’t get over the smell of the earth, that beautiful deafening silence followed by the crunching of leaves.  The array of green tones and textures and bark.  My excitement probably something akin to a kid in a toy store, wanting to touch, inspect, smell, but sadly had to limit my explorations and keep up with the group.

Sunday morning, I decided to break away from the group and venture alone at my own pace to explore the town.  First stop, the National Park for a 2 hour hike up to the Wentworth Falls. And it got off to an interesting start with about 150 stairs.  Which took you to the first look out point  (below).  For a sneak peak looking out directly at the falls.  Nothing spectacular by far.  But the feeling of standing there looking out to amazing vastness was just incredible.  And so the hike begins along the left side all the way to the falls.

  

Over boulders, under fallen tree trunks, squeezing through overgrown paths, fighting with spiderwebs.  It was sublime. Painful, hot, tiring with all your camera equipment, but so wonderful.  And that feeling when you arrive, standing above the falls, that elated gust of water that almost blows you over with such incredible force. That jolt of aliveness that kicks in was truly amazing. As you're standing there on the edge of the cliff taking photos, every few minutes, a vortex of wind would rise high above you and kick up a mass of water to come showering down on you.  There's no where to hide and so you shield your camera into your body and brace yourself.  And it's wonderful.  Freezing cold, but wonderful.  

Eventually I had to tear myself away and make my way back, so I never finished the hike that would essentially take you directly behind the falls.  I had a whole town to still explore, but it was an amazing experience.

Next stop the Norman Lindsay Gallery at Faulconbridge in the lower Blue Mountains.  I was told that the gardens are beautiful and defiitely worth a visit.  And what better time to visit than Spring.  Upon arrival, you feel like you're stepping back in time.  It's a beautiful old estate, completely hidden by the main road. The old stone walls, immaculate gardens and a little path that takes you down to a cozy cafe and their delicious freshly baked scones. 

After lunch I took a stroll through the gardens.  You're in awe at the beauty around you.  Lavender bushes stand out against the blue sky, the wisteria paths calling out to you, beautiful statues litter the grounds, wonderful old trees with wooden benches beneath them, inviting you to sit down and admire the scenery.   It's perfectly picturesque.

 

I remember getting caught up near the lavender, mesmerised by the constant activity of bees. And naturally hoping to get a really good close up his face, hopefully looking at me, but no, this little bugger just wouldn’t hover long enough for me to zoom in and focus. Notice, he's never quite looking at me,  the only constant view I kept getting was the beautiful rear end of this little one.  Yes, he probably knew I was standing there all that time, with my lens practically shoved in his face, patiently waiting. Getting back ache in the process, bending over in a not so comfortable position.

June 2010 Brisbane

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any mixed media work, so here’s one I was asked to pop up. The occasion was some time ago.  A trip to Brisbane in June 2010 with three of my girlfriends, Nikki, Kelly and Karen, to attend the Brisbane Papercraft Expo and celebrate Kelly’s birthday – what better excuse for the girls to get together, take a road trip, leave our lives behind and give our credit cards a good workout …

This is the front of the album (above), what was initially meant to be a small project thrown together to remember our trip away, turned into an enjoyable but long task that took me a full day from 10am Saturday morning and completed at 4am on Sunday.  The one time in my life I’m thankful I’m an insomniac.  Once I got started, it all just came together like clock work, good fun.

I love this tag as the image I found, four divas in a volksvagen is priceless and makes me giggle every time I look at it.  

The album contained quite a few variations of pockets, some hidden, some visible as there was a fair amount to record about our trip.

Now this has got to be the highlight of our trip.  We stayed at the Oaks Casino Towers.  A gorgeous, spacious, luxury two bedroom apartment.  I bunked with Nikki and Karen and Kelly stayed together. One evening, everyone retired to bed, me being a late night owl, stayed up and kept myself busy.  Sometime after midnight, I decided to call it a night and head to bed.  Only to find I couldn’t open the door, I knocked softly at first, hoping Nikki would wake up and open up the door for me.  No answer, so I knock louder, as you do.  Still no answer.  After standing there for 5 minutes, hoping the door would open, I’m starting to feel the cold and had no choice but to make myself comfortable on the couch.  And thankfully it was just that, but not so comfortable trying to sleep with nothing to cover you or warm you up.

And so we found out the next morning, Nikki did in fact wake up some time during the night, look over to the other bed and wonder why I’m not in it and ventured into the lounge to find me asleep, and came to the conclusion that I probably found that she was snoring too loud and therefore decided it was better to sleep in the lounge.  So not the case ….

And Nikki being Nikki who feels the cold pretty quick,  cranked up the heater to full.  Several hours later Kelly and Karen wake up, drenched in sweat, wondering what the hell was going on with the heat.  Meanwhile in the other room, lovely Nikki is fast asleep, cosy and warm in her bed with the temperature just as she likes it ….

Another page cut out of chipboard to make the rectangle, then the right side finished off with the Tim Holtz die cut ‘bracket’ range.

Toward the end of the trip, we took a cruise to celebrate Kelly’s birthday.  Aboard a beautiful steam boat with an amazing seafood buffet and as always, plenty of champers to wash it down with.

The Junkyard visit

24 April 2011

Ever felt like immersing yourself in those treasures long forgotten, the kind where you’re transported back into time, standing in your grandparents house, gazing at common household items that seemed as far up there with technology and growth as you could ever imagine – well today, my friends and I found ourselves among those treasures again in a rather interesting place called The Junkyard in Londonderry, northwest of the Sydney CBD.

Recommended by an acquaintance, we were lead to believe it’s a treasure alcove of small common household items that could be incorporated into our art, well what a surprise when we drove through the front gates, I was speeches, in awe and absolutely delighted – the most beautiful sight before us and anything but small.

Relics long forgotten, to gaze at the amazing beauty on how these items have aged and marvel at things you only get to see recreated in movies these days.

Our first sight as we drove through the front gates were the most amazing trains - old and weathered.  A simply stunning relic. Kelly and I went into imagination overdrive, conjuring up beautiful ideas of purchasing one, and fixing it up to create a haven of peace, a living space for us, our little getaway from the world - well we can dream!

 

 

 

 Looking at these photos hardly do any justice.  If ever it rang true; ‘you had to be there’, today would be one of those times.  Items that were life size and overwhelmingly beautiful, to touch and feel the texture of the rust. Incredible. 

The suitcases below we found stashed in a corner in one of their dedicated rooms.  Walking in, you can smell the dust, feel yourself breathing it in.  Stacked from floor to ceiling, beautiful leather box suitcases. You imagine families standing in front of the Titanic waiting to board, with their most loved possessions securely packed in these beautiful suitcaes.  Amazing how times have changed.

 

As mesmerized as I was by the trains and the anchors and the rust, I somehow couldn’t get enough of looking at the array of old bottles.  I recall a friend I used to know who collected every different design of the ‘Coke’ bottle over the years and I loved the different shapes that developed over time.  Here I found some of the most beautiful, intricate designs in the bottles

 

And lastly, this image that caught my attention.  Sitting up there on show in all its splendor and various degrees of aging and degradation - what a classic!

Creative Soul Retreat 2009

How time flies.  It’s been a week already since the retreat where we indulged four days of sublime art, outstanding food, good friendships and the most tranquil surroundings in Victoria at Amberley, located 20kms from Melbourne CBD. This incredible venue is surrounded by acres of bushland, gorgeous gardens and overlooking the Yarra River.

The original residence of Amberley was constructed to the express requirements and exact conditions dictated by the owner, Mr .W. Darch during 1929 - 1930. At the time he was the General Manager of Shell Australia which included Shell’s operations in NZ.

After Mr and Mrs Darch returned to England in 1934 the house was purchased by a second family, and the area underneath the lounge excavated and incorporated a dark room, table tennis and dancing area, bar, bedroom and bathroom for his elder son. At this time there was also an orchard, vegetable garden and poultry house. Also added were stables for the children’s ponies.

In 1955 the house was purchased by the Christian Brothers to be used as a Novitiate for their Victorian and Tasmanian novices. The Christian Brothers added a chapel, sleeping quarters, along with a library, and joined these to the original building following its general character and lines as far as possible. In 2004 it was again sold and renovated and is now a conference and spiritual retreat centre. And so we were the lucky recipients to experience the suburb peace and tranquillity of Amberley. A perfect setting to encourage creativity and inspiration.

The patio leading out from the dining hall overlooking the river and a stunning array of bushland. A perfect setting for our evening socialising, nibbles and champagne.

Pictured L-R: Robyn, Margaret, Kirsty, Christine, Marina.

My personal experience was one of immense gratification and pure pleasure. Catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.  No time for sleep and the tutors, selected by our host and organizer, Bevlea Ross were incredible; Bernie Berlin, DJ Pettitt and Stephanie Lee.  The knowledge gained was invaluable.

Some photos of Amberley.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Backgrounds’ workshop with Joy Bathie

On  Friday 24 August 2007 I boarded a plane and headed back to the extraordinary city of Melbourne for a two day ‘backgrounds’ workshop under the tutelage of the amazingly talented Joy Bathie.  This would be my second time I’ve had the privilege of being taught by Joy in the last 3 years and moving cities certainly didn’t keep me away.

 

To those who ever have the opportunity to be taught by Joy, grab it, is all I can say.  An experience not to be missed.  Apart from her astounding talent, Joy is the very epitome of a calming soul, a woman with a more beautiful nature, I’ve not met in a while, and this all spills out into the work she creates. 
 

 

Another remarkable woman would be Carolyn (Caro) Biletziclis from Ancient Echoes who hosted the workshop.  Caro opened her ‘former home’, now turned into her office/workshop for classes/studio for the invasion of about 17 woman, all eager to get ‘down and dirty’ with paint, water, gel medium, images, and anything else that appealed to us for inclusion on our canvases, and of course the most important – the chance to drool over Joy’s various altered books that she never fails to bring along, oh yes and least I forget - the next best thing – the food.  No student could ever say we went home undernourished.  Ancient Echoes (Caro), again outdid herself and a big thank you goes to the ‘caterer’, Lucy Leatham for the array of food and desert spread before us for the 2 days.  Quite honestly it was impossible to sample everything, but that which I did, was absolutely superb.  Can’t remember when last I’ve been fed so well with such a diverse collection of food.   Simply delicious – thank you to Caro, Lucy and those wonderful souls behind the scenes for the nourishment.

 

Another aspect to mention, before I get to the artwork, would be the environment in which we spent the 2 days.  Often you attend a workshop in a relatively large room with four plain cream walls and possibly one average size window in the corner – not so at Ancient Echoes – here we were nestled among nature.  Our ‘work’ room was beautiful, cosy, comfortable, pictures adorned the walls, a bookshelf on another and one entire wall was replaced by windows (floor to ceiling), with beautiful wood trimmings that looked out onto a beautiful deck completely enveloped in nature; tress, shrubbery, bushes, flowers, - incredibly beautiful and so relaxing.  An environment to certainly boost anyone’s creative spirit.  All meals were taken out on the deck (see photo), and luck would have it that Melbourne blessed us with incredible weather that weekend (rare, considering the season).  All in all, it was a perfect weekend and fabulous to catch up with so many familiar faces again.

In terms of what was created, without giving away ‘trade secrets’, the purpose of the workshop was to create backgrounds and incorporate images; stamped or adhered etc.  Various colours of acrylic paints were used (colours the average person would never contemplate mixing together), but which turned out pretty well with amazing results.  Below is one of my pieces, showing a beginning stage, and the end result. Bearing in mind, that there were probably about 15 different layers of various colours of paint and mediums applied, hard to believer looking at the final result, when all you see is red, which surprisingly is not a particularly favourite colour of mine.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To view several other pieces created by students during Joy’s workshop, click on the sites below:

Paper Queens

Ancient Echoes

 

Thank you again to Caro, Joy and Lucy for a fabulous weekend at Ancient Echoes, and to Claire Kelly and partner Luke Mosse for allowing me to invade their home for the weekend.